Atomic Habits
The self-help book suggests:
Do not say I want to be,
instead say I am.
I am the type of person
who does the dishes,
cleans up the doom piles,
waters the plants.
I never let the flowers decay in the vase.
I portion control,
meal plan for days
Don’t say I want to be rich;
say there’s more where that came from!
Say I write thank you cards,
remember birthdays,
call every weekend
and we laugh and laugh
and don’t speak about all of this.
Say I respond to emails promptly
and never take my phone to bed.
Say the panic attacks are rogue hormones,
or all in my head,
(not that this will be the coolest summer
of the rest of our lives).
Say I am a spider,
weaving and weaving a web
that anyone could walk through.
Say it wasn’t all going to end;
Would I weave?
Don’t say I want to be a morning person.
Say I am a morning person.
Step into the garden at dawn;
See the cosmos bloom,
the cherry trees bear fruit
(despite all of this).
Say I too, am made of sun.
Jaime Jacques has been through various incarnations, the most recent of which involves delivering mail and making art in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Previously Jaime worked in communications for international aid organizations before going rogue in the Northern Triangle. Her Creative Nonfiction has appeared in Salon, Narratively, Roads and Kingdoms, and NPR among others. She is fluent in Spanish, the author of Moon El Salvador and lives for tropical storms, strong coffee and spontaneous dance parties.
